ATR (Average True Range)

Glossary · Technical Analysis

ATR (Average True Range) measures volatility as the average size of a candle's full range — gaps included — over a lookback window, typically 14 periods. It says nothing about direction; rising ATR means bigger moves both ways. Traders use it to size positions and place stops beyond the market's normal noise.

"ATR tells you how far the market swings on a normal day — set your stop inside that and you're donating."

True range takes the biggest of three spans — high to low, high to previous close, low to previous close — so gaps count, then averages it over 14 periods. Convert it to a percent of price to compare across coins: a major in a quiet regime might range 2–3% a day while a small-cap does that before breakfast. Two everyday uses: stops at 1.5–2× ATR from entry, and position size set so one ATR of pain equals a fixed slice of your account.

The misread that drains accounts is the fixed stop — 'I always use 2%' — applied to a coin whose normal daily range is 6%. That's not risk management, it's a scheduled donation to the noise. The second is sizing up when ATR doubles because 'it's moving': same position, double the swing, double the pain. When volatility expands, cut size so the rupee risk stays constant. Boring — and it's why the patient survive the weeks that delete everyone else.

Filter coins by ATR% in the screener

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Questions

What is ATR in crypto trading?

ATR (Average True Range) measures volatility as the average size of a candle's full range — gaps included — over a lookback window, typically 14 periods. It says nothing about direction; rising ATR means bigger moves both ways. Traders use it to size positions and place stops beyond the market's normal noise.

How would a trader say it?

ATR tells you how far the market swings on a normal day — set your stop inside that and you're donating.

Part of the Crypto Jargon glossary — every term, decoded the way a trader would say it.

Crypto Jargon

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